Rtjfus eolla lutz



PATENTED JAN. 5, 1904.-

R. R. LUTZ.

POCKET DEVELOPING AND FIXING DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 23, 1903.

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W/ TNESSE 8.

ATTORNEYS UNITED STATES Patented January 5, 1904 RUFUS ROLLA LUTZ, OF SAN GERMAN, PORTO RICO.

POCKET DEVELOPING AND- FIXING DEVICE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 748,964, dated January 5, 1904.

Application filed June 23, 1903. Serial No. 162,747. kNo model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, RUFUS ROLLA Lurz, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of San German, Porto Rico, have invented a new and Improved Pocket Developing and Fixing Device, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

My invention relates to a portable developing and fixing device; and one object that I have in view is to provide a compact construction adapted to be easily carried in the pocket, if desired, and to be used in the daylight for developing, washing, and fixing photographic plates without exposing them to the action of injurious light-rays.

A further object that I have in view is to allow water or solutions to be easily changed and the device to be conveniently handled and manipulated without wasting the liquid and soiling the hands or clothing of the photographer.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will appear in the course of the sub joined description, and the novelty will be defined by the annexed claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which similar characters of reference in dicate corresponding parts in all the figures.

Figure 1 is a vertical sectional elevation through my improved developing and fixing device, the plane of the section being indicated by the dotted line 1 1 of Fig. 2. Fig. 2

- is a vertical longitudinal section at right angles to Fig. 1 and taken in the plane of the dotted line 2 2 of said Fig. 1, and Fig. 3 is a horizontal transverse section on the dotted line 3 3 of Fig. 1.

5 designates a flask, which is preferably made of non-actinic transparent material. In the practical manufacture of the flask it is made of a single piece of ruby or orange colored glass; but it will be understood that the materials may be modified within wide limits. This flask is of proper length and width to accommodate photographic plates of certain sizes, and the flask is closed at one end by a bottom 6, while the other end of the flask is open, thus producing a mouth 7, through which the sensitized plates can be easily introduced and the developed and fixed plates may readily be withdrawn. The flask is of elliptical shape in cross-section, as shown more clearly by Fig. 3, although any equivalent shape may be given to said flask. The elliptical shape is advantageous, because the side walls recede from the edges toward the middle, and this shape is advantageous in that a photographic plate is adapted to rest on its side edges within the flask without permitting its film or sensitized surface to come in contact with the walls of the flask. The cross-section or contour of the flask is also advantageous, because plates of different widths within the limits of the dimension of the flask may be easily introduced and withdrawn in a way to prevent the sensitized surfaces from scraping the walls of the flask.

8 designates a metallic band, which is secured firmly to the upper external part of the flask. This band may be made of metal, as described, or of any other appropriate material. Said band conforms to the cross-sectional shape of the flask, to which it is secured or united in any appropriate way, and one edge of this band is extended or prolonged a suitable distance beyond the open mouth 7 of said flask, while the other end of the band is undercut or recessed, as at 9. (See Figs. 1 and 2.)

The band 8 serves as a means for removably holding a stopper in place at the open end of the flask. This stopper is peculiarly constructed to permit the easy filling and emptying of the flask and at the same time efiectually exclude the admission of lightrays into the flask through the open mouth 7 thereof. The stopper is shown in the form of a shell 9 adapted to fit snugly in the projecting portion of the band 8, said shell having a lip 10 at its outer end, said lip being disposed to overhang the exposed edge of the band 8 and make practically a light-tight joint therewith. The stopper-shell 9 is provided with a series of partitions or flanges ll 12, the same being disposed inside of the shell and projecting from the respective walls thereof, so as to occupy an alternate or staggered relation, as clearly shown by Fig. 2. These partitions are spaced parallel one to the other in a way to form a tortuous or irregular passage which extends throngh the stopper-shell. This tortuous passage effectually excludes the passage of the actinic rays of light through the stopper; but it is evident that a liquid of any nature will readily flow through this tortuous passage by canting or inverting the flask.

In the normal use of the device the flask is protected or concealed from the actinic rays of light by an opaque jacket or shell 13, which may be made of metal or any other appropriate material. This opaque jacket is closed at one end by a suitable bottom 14:, While its other end is open, and said jacket conforms in shape and dimensions to the flask 5, except that the jacket is not quite as long as the flask. The open-end edge of this jacket when it is in place on the flask is received in the recess 9 of the band 8, and this jacket is thus fitted to the flask and the band in a light tight manner. The jacket or shell is removable at will from the flask by simply drawing one of the parts endwise with respect to the other, and said jacket may be Wholly or partly withdrawn from the flask in order that the operator may look through the flask and observe the process of development of the film on the plate.

My improved device offers every advantage in manipulating photographic plates in the daylight that operators possess in working in a dark room; but the article is free from the practical disadvantages encountered in developing and fixing the plates in ordinary dark rooms. The use of the improved device overcomes the trouble and expense of fitting up a dark room, the inconvenience of working in semidarkness, the necessity of trays, baths, 850., the soiling of the hands and clothing of the operator by the solutions used in treating the plates, and the liability of poisoning from the use of developing solutions. It will be understood that my invention does not require a dark room, which is always an item of considerable expense and trouble. The exposed plate can be developed at any time or in any place, and as the plate is perfectly protected from light the photographer is able to do his work in a well-lighted and well-ventilated room and under conditions which enable him to see clearly what he is doing. The solutions can be easily poured into and from the flask, and the device can readily be manipulated Without soiling the fingers or clothing or having poisonous contact with the chemicals used in the treatment of the plate, because the hands do not touch either the plate or the solutions during development and fixing.

In developing a photographic plate I prefer to proceed as follows: The stopper is removed from the band 8 and the plate is transferred from the plate-holder to the flask 5. This transfer may be readily effected in an ordinary darkened room or by using a fabric bag in which the plate may be taken out of the holder and placed in the flask, or the transfer can be effected in any place or under any conditions where the plate is not exposed to the light. After the plate shall have been deposited in the flask the operator replaces the stopper and the device, with the cover or jacket 13 applied, can be carried into daylight or in a lighted room. The plate should be first subjected to a Water-bath, which can easily be poured into the stopper and flow through the tortuous passage thereof into the flask, after which the water should be poured off. A developing solution can subsequently be introduced into the flask through the stopper, and after the plate is exposed to the action of the solution for a sufficient length of time to partially or wholly develop the film the flask can be withdrawn from the opaque jacket or easing without injury to the plate, because the flask is made of nonactinic transparent material. The flask, with the contained plate, can readily be held up to the light for the operator to observe the progress of development and the condition of the plate, after which the jacket or shell should be replaced on the flask and fitted in the recess of the band 8. The developing solution can readily be poured off and the plate Washed one or more times by introducing the proper quantity of water. The fixing solution can readily be poured into the flask after the water-bath shall have been poured off, and the plate is thus fixed by the action of the solution. The stopper can be readily removed at any time when the flask does not contain a plate for the purpose of thoroughly washing and cleansing the article.

It is evident that I may use two or more of the devices, one for the development of the plates and the other to receive the fixing solu tions. This, however, will require the transfor of the plate from one flask to the other.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent 1. A device of the class described, comprisinga flask open at one end and made of non-actinic material, an opaque jacket or cover for said flask, and hollow stopper for closing the open end of the flask and cooperating with the jacket or cover in inclosing said flask.

2. A daylight photographic developing and fixing device, having a flask, and a stopper fitted removably to one end of said flask, said stopper being provided with a tortuous passage which admits of the ready introduction or removal of a liquid and precludes the passage of light-rays.

3. In a daylight photographic developing and fixing device, a hollow stopper havinga tortuous passage adapted to permit the free flow of liquid therethrough and to prevent the passage of light-rays.

4. In a daylight photographic developing and fixingdevice,the combination withaflask, of a hollow stopper fitted snugly thereto and provided with internal staggered partitions forming a tortuous light-excluding passage.

5. In a device of the class described, the

combination of a flask, a band attached to closing the flask and disposed in lapping rela- 10 said flask at the mouth portion thereof, and tion to said band.

a hollow stopper fitted to said band and pro- In testimony whereof I have signed my vided with a tortuous passage. name to this specification in the presence of 5 6. A device of the class described, compristwo subscribing Witnesses.

ing a flask open at one end, a band secured RUFUS ROLLA LUTZ.

to said flask, a hollow stopper provided with W'itnesses: .a tortuous passage and fitted removably to CHARLES C. DUNNING,

l the band, and an opaque jacket or shell inl RAFAEL GARCIA CABRERA. 

